Donald Trump’s scandal-hit environment chief Scott Pruitt resigns

US President Donald Trump has accepted the resignation of his scandal-hit environment chief Scott Pruitt.

Mr Pruitt, the head of America’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), faced a series of controversies over his travel spending, security costs, dealings with industry lobbyists and alleged misuse of government resources.

I have accepted the resignation of Scott Pruitt as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Within the Agency Scott has done an outstanding job, and I will always be thankful to him for this. The Senate confirmed Deputy at EPA, Andrew Wheeler, will…

…on Monday assume duties as the acting Administrator of the EPA. I have no doubt that Andy will continue on with our great and lasting EPA agenda. We have made tremendous progress and the future of the EPA is very bright!

He was forced out following a series of revelations involving pricey trips with first-class airline seats and unusual security spending, including a $43,000 soundproof booth for making private phone calls.

He demanded 24-hour-a-day protection from armed officers, resulting in a swollen 20-member security team that blew through overtime budgets and racked up expenses of more than $3 million.

He had also ordered his EPA staff to do personal chores for him, picking up dry cleaning and trying to obtain a used Trump hotel mattress for his apartment.

His job had been in jeopardy since it emerged he had leased a property last year that was co-owned by the wife of a veteran fossil fuels lobbyist, whose firm had sought regulatory rollbacks from the EPA.